


i would teach my feet to fly

by sandyk



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, Menarche, Menstruation, i will never stop writing Eleven and Max actually becoming friends!!, time setting appropriate cis-centrism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-15 22:48:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18082415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandyk/pseuds/sandyk
Summary: The bag had something called maxipads in it and the library books were all about Jane's changing body.





	i would teach my feet to fly

**Author's Note:**

> Contrary to what's expressed in some places in this story, menstruation does not equal womenhood. There are women who don't menstruate, and people who menstruate who are not women. 
> 
> Not mine, no profit garnered. Title from Joni Mitchell's River. For the trope bingo spot Transformations. Thanks A!

At first Jane thought she must be sick. She was so worried she ran out of the bathroom. "I think I need a doctor."

Her dad, she called him her dad now. Not papa, that was a bad man. Dad was a good man. Dad said, "What's wrong?" 

She explained that there was spots of blood in her underwear. 

Dad looked relieved. "I think that's just your period. That's --" he paused. "It’s natural." 

He didn't say normal, she loved him for that. She wasn't normal but things happened to her that were natural. He said, "They never did the birds and bees at the lab, huh? Okay, so, this is something that happens to women, it's part of growing up." 

He told her to wait and he'd be right back, he promised. 

It took him thirty minutes. He came home with a bag from the grocery store and library books. The bag had something called maxipads in it and the library books were all about her changing body. Her dad read them with her so she could ask when she had questions. 

It was strange to realize all the women she knew, they had this, too. Joyce and Nancy and Dustin's mom. Her mother. Max, too, probably. It was natural and that meant it happened to everyone. All the women. 

She sat down next to Max at lunch. She was in school now. She only went to certain classes. The story was that the sheriff had adopted her and she was from another country. So she didn't take English but she did take science.

Max said, "Now you talk to me."

"Sorry," Jane said. "Have you had your period? Are you, is that happening to you, too?" 

"Yeah," Max said. "I am a girl. My mom was useless. I was in California when I first got it, though. My dad was dating this gal, she was cool. She was nice about it." 

Max frowned. She said, "I'm not gonna steal your boyfriend, you know. He acts like a jerk to me all the time. I barely like him. My mom says girls aren't good friends because we're all in competition. But she can be so stupid. You barely know me and I'm pretty interesting." Max's hand was gripping her spoon so hard. 

Jane breathed. She said, "You're right. I'm sorry. I don't know things. About being friends. Or other people." 

"Okay," Max said. "We don't have to be girls like that. Okay?" Then she let go of her spoon and looked over at Jane. "When I was in California, I knew this girl, her mother threw her a party when she got her period. It was so weird."

Jane nodded. That was weird. 

Max said, "Boys act like period stuff is so weird. When guys say 'on the rag,' they mean you're having your period and they're being an asshole." 

"Got it. Thank you," Jane said. 

Her first period happened and was over. She knew from the books it should come back in a month. Her body would do a natural thing.

Her friendship with Max felt tenuous. Tentative. Jane had English tutoring with Thelma every morning at the police station. She was learning words and reading books. The week after Jane got her period, Thelma brought Are You There God It's Me Margaret to read. Thelma pointed out it was an out of date book. "No belts now, we have sticky pads." That was all Thelma said about that. 

Jane let Max take her to the video arcade. Max told her not to use her powers. "It'll be more fun," Max said. "For me." Jane laughed and Max laughed. 

Jane was supposed to start swimming lessons. She didn't know how to have period in a pool. The maxipad wouldn't work. All that blood in the pool. Jane got the impression she was supposed to hide that she had her period. 

Mr. Clark told her when she started his class that she was an accidental anthropologist. He explained that since she was from another place, she could observe everyone around her and see things they couldn't. She noticed things. People hid that they had periods, Jane noticed. 

She was over at Mike's and she went to Nancy's room. Nancy looked confused as Jane explained the problem. Then Nancy got it. "Oh, oh, got it. You don't really have anyone to ask, huh?"

"I don't think Max knows and I'm here now," Jane said. 

"Oh, you need tampons. Someone told me you can't use tampons if you haven't had sex --" Nancy grimaced. She blushed. Nancy said, "That's nonsense. It doesn't make any difference." 

Nancy gave her Tampax with applicators. There were warnings with them. She waited until her period started to try them. It was very hard to get it in. She felt very awkward. But swimming lessons were awkward. Steve was the teacher. He was good and patient but Jane got confused and upset sometimes in water. 

She told Max about it. She thought friends should share. Max said, "My mom won't buy me tampons. Like I said, she's stupid." Then Max said, "Thanks. It's good to know." 

Jane felt like they were not as tentative. So she said, "Are we supposed to be embarrassed about this? Dad said it was natural. Everyone, they do it. But Nancy was telling me how to hide my pads when I go to the bathroom at school."

Max looked like she was considering. "Yeah. That's kind of screwed up. Yeah. I don't think I'd announce it in class, though." 

"Yeah," Jane said. "I'd do it but everyone already thinks I'm freak." 

"Yeah," Max said. "It's another super power you have, you can do things and people already wrote you off, so you why not do it?" 

"I don't like being wrote off," Jane said. 

Max nodded. "It sucks. But most of the popular kids, not like Steve, but the rest of them. They seem like they have try really hard to stay in everyone's good graces. I don't know. I like that no one cares what I do, mostly."

"Lucas cares. And Dustin. Me," Jane said. 

Max looked embarrassed. "Yeah, I know. But most people."

Thelma at the sheriff's office said most people were worthless. Jane didn't want to say that. Her dad said Thelma was too cynical. Jane said, "I think most people don't have most people who care what they do." 

"Okay, okay, we're being too serious," Max said. "Let me tell you some of the shitty things I've heard boys say about PMS." 

"Okay," Jane said. "What's PMS?"


End file.
